Hank Aaron to dedicate museum in Mobile with baseball greats

View full size(The Associated Press/Bebeto Matthews)Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron plans to be in Mobile today for the opening of the Hank Aaron Childhood Home and Museum.MOBILE, Ala. -- The door to the Aaron family house on Edwards Avenue in the Toulminville neighborhood was always open to family, friends and folks stopping by for a visit. Tonight, after having been moved to Hank Aaron Stadium, the door will open once again.

A project that began with an idea in 2008 by Mobile BayBears' President and COO Bill Shanahan will culminate with tonight's dedication ceremony for the Hank Aaron Childhood Home and Museum.

Earlier, Aaron is scheduled to lead a tour of the museum for special guests. The event is a private fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Alabama and is open only to those with tickets or invitations.

Fans attending tonight's game between the BayBears and Birmingham Barons, slated to begin at 7:05, can view the ceremony from outside Gaslight Park, though opportunities to get a good spot may be limited.

Each of the Hall of Famers, as well as Selig, will also take part in on-field ceremonies prior to the start of the game. Fans will get a chance to hear each of the Hall of Famers speak before they throw out the first pitch.

Fans with tickets to tonight's BayBears-Barons game will be granted a complimentary tour of the museum after the third inning of play. Those who wish to tour the museum at a later date may do so for free if they present their ticket to tonight's game.

In future games, there will be an admission charge to tour the museum.

Because of the large number of fans expected tonight, only those presenting a ticket to one of the events -- the museum opening or the game -- will be allowed access to the stadium parking lot.

View full size(Press-Register Correspondent/Chip English)"We were a family," Aaron, 76, said recently when asked to describe his fondest memory of growing up in the home. "We were able to communicate with each other." The BayBears' home opener is always a big moment for the team, but tonight it takes a bit of a back seat to the grand opening of the Aaron museum.

"We were a family," Aaron, 76, said recently when asked to describe his fondest memory of growing up in the home. "We were able to communicate with each other."

He said of the house, "It wasn't the best -- it was a long way from being the best -- but then, we made the most out of it."

Aaron and his brothers helped their father, Herbert, construct the house.

When he became a successful professional baseball player, Aaron decided to buy a new house for his parents, one that would be closer to his mother's favorite fishing spot and would provide more comfort.

But his plan had a flaw.

"One day my father came to me and he had gotten wind of it somehow," Aaron explained. "He said, 'I appreciate everything that you've done for me, son, but I'm not going to move from my house. I built this house. All my friends are here.'

"I started thinking, that was kind of selfish on my part to do that without even consulting him because after all, it's his house and I'm trying to uproot them to move them someplace else."

Before she passed away, Aaron's mother, Estella, then living with her son in Atlanta, gave her blessing to the museum project. Tonight, her son, his family, friends and guests, will again open the door to the home his father built.

"It feels wonderful to have the house at my house here," Aaron said while being interviewed at the stadium. "It feels great."

He said, "I want all kids to understand that it is not easy, the path is not easy sometimes, but they should not turn their back on anything. They should always look forward to being a lot stronger and they should always give everything they've got to reach the top